Headaches: Do Blue Light Glasses Can Help?

Too much screen time = headaches at the end of the day!

More and more people are complaining of migraines, and one of the culprits is probably the blue light emitted by all the screens that have flooded our daily lives.

But as you can't escape it, are blue light glasses a solution?

Thanks to their filtering capacity, they block part of the blue light. But is it enough to help with headaches? Here's evertything you need to know!

Why is the blue light so special?

Just like when we see a rainbow, light (and its visible spectrum) is composed of a whole range of colors going from red to purple. And if it’s on the blue light that we focus in particular, and not really on the other colors, it’s because it is the most energetic color!

The blue light is the one that hits the retina with the most power.

Until a few years ago, this didn’t pose any problem in particular. But today, blue light has invaded our daily life!

It’s present:

👉 in the natural sunlight
👉 in the artificial light of our interiors
👉 in the light of our electronic devices (smartphone, computer, TV...)

This is all the more true since the appearance of LEDs, which are now omnipresent in screens but also sometimes in interior lighting. Indeed, unlike natural light which is quite balanced, LEDs produce most of their light in the blue light spectrum.

And that's why we talk more about the blue light than the others: besides being the most energetic, it’s the one we receive the most!

How dangerous is blue light?

When emitted by the sun, in natural light, blue light is absolutely not dangerous. On the contrary, it has real beneficial effects on the body.

✅ It regulates the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone.
✅ It guarantees a good circadian rhythm (the alternation between sleep and wakefulness).
✅ It influences our mood.
✅ It allows us to regain our rhythm after a jet lag.

But as we just explained, we generally experience a daily overdose of this blue light, and the consequences can be quite worrying.

❌ Sleep is disturbed.
❌ Eye strain is felt.
❌ Headaches and migraines at the end of the day are more recurrent.

👉 Disturbed sleep

Blue light disturbs our biological clock. It makes the brain believe that it’s still daylight, so it does not order the production of melatonin, the body doesn’t prepare for sleep and so we have difficulty falling asleep.

👉 Visual fatigue

Without realizing it, we stare at many screens during the day, whether we work on a computer or spend time on a smartphone. And when we concentrate on what we see, what we do or what we read, we blink less. This causes dry eyes that turn into visual fatigue at the end of the day.

👉 Headaches

Blue light is emitted directly onto the surface of the screens, and the eye receives it in all its power. Then, it makes its way from the retina to the optic nerve where it intensifies the pain already present. That's why it causes headaches!

How do blue light glasses protect us?

Let's be honest with ourselves, it’s very unlikely we’re going to reduce our screen time!

This is why blue light glasses are more and more a real solution : they create a real filter between the source of this blue light and our eyes.

The lenses of the blue light filtering glasses are manufactured in the same way as conventional corrective lenses. However, they receive a treatment that allows them to reflect a part of the blue waves of light. This means that :

With blue light glasses, about 40% of the blue light emitted by the screens does not reach the eyes!

This filtration is quite sufficient to provide effective protection during the day. With less blue light, it means :

✅ Better ability to fall asleep quickly
✅ Less eye strain
✅ Less headaches

However, it’s important to remember that headaches after a whole day spent in front of a computer are not necessarily the fault of the blue light. When we suffer from an uncorrected visual defect, we compensate all day long by making efforts on the eye muscles, which can tire them and lead to migraines.

To relieve them, it’s then necessary to opt for blue light glasses equipped with the right correction!

Conclusion: Do blue light glasses help with headaches?

👍 Yes, blue light glasses are effective against headaches!

They create a barrier between the source of the blue light and the eyes, they filter this blue light, less of it reaches the retina, and therefore, there are less negative effects (migraines, eyestrain, difficulty to fall asleep…)

However, in case of severe headaches, it’s recommended to visit an ophthalmologist. In addition to blue light, you may also suffer from a small visual disturbance!